Biography
Michael A. Martinez, born into a military family, spent part of his childhood in Germany and Italy, where he developed a passion for genre films—particularly war and science fiction—by watching local TV and tapes his father brought back from his travels. After living for a few years in Alamogordo, New Mexico, his family settled in Fairbanks, Alaska. There, Martinez and his friends began creating short films for their high school classes and later continued making them during summers for fun.
Martinez attended the University of Alaska, where his father was employed, often utilizing access to the university’s rocket launch facilities. His first television job involved filming rocket launches and recovery operations. He then pursued film school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he met fellow filmmaker and paranormal enthusiast Nick Groff. Together, they co-directed numerous student films, culminating in the feature Malevolence (2004), which enjoyed a brief festival run that year. Upon returning to Alaska, Martinez worked in local television for several years, taking on multiple roles—including marketing, copywriting, editing, directing, shooting, producing, and compositing visual effects—due to a shortage of available local talent.
In 2008, he moved to Los Angeles and freelanced in camera work and visual effects for several years before serving as the in-house video director for American Honda Motor Company from 2013 to 2018. In 2018, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to work full-time in visual effects and editing on studio films and television, while continuing to pursue smaller projects in his free time.
